Boys basketball

The St. Francis Saints have come a long way. With a 76-52 win over Damien on Friday night, the Saints won their second boys basketball Division II state title in a row. Coach Ron Durant stuck with the winning formula: a heavy dose of Kameron Ng and Kordel Ng off the dribble, occasional sprinkles of 3-point bombs from Bryce Nishida, plenty of steady ballhandling and floor leadership from Jett Tanuvasa, big post play from Boris Vukovic, and lots of energy […]

Here are the all-tournament teams in the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships that ended Friday night. Division I Most outstanding player—Zayne Chong, Punahou Cole Arceneaux, Punahou Tolu Smith, Kahuku Nalu Kahapea, KS-Hawaii Duke Clemens, Punahou Hunter Hosoda, Punahou Division II Most outstanding player—Kameron Ng, St. Francis Kordel Ng, St. Francis Boris Vukovic, St. Francis Micah Visoria, Roosevelt Kolin Galdiano, Damien Lindon Sevilleja, Damien

At Punahou, state championships aren’t a given. They are, as always, the standard. The Buffanblu won their first boys basketball state title in 1970 under Bud Scott and have nine crowns in their trophy case. The most recent was in 2012 under current coach Darren Matsuda, and the Buffanblu have played in the last two state finals. Kahuku broke through last season with its first state title in the classification era. The Red Raiders won Class A titles in the […]

They know each other quite well. The Damien Monarchs have done good in their first trip to the state tournament since 2014. The small Catholic school on Houghtailing Street endured their share of adversity, but even after losing key players, Coach Alvin Stephenson’s young team qualified for the big dance. St. Francis has been in the limelight long enough, another small Catholic school with big-time dreams. The defending state champions in Division II boys basketball is having another epic season. […]

Moanalua surging higher on roller-coaster season A year ago, Byron Mello’s Moanalua team lost its first six games in nonconference play. All tough competition, all close losses. He was far from satisfied, but in the end, things balanced out and Moanalua finished with a solid year. This time, expectations were higher. Moanalua had its struggles, then began to peak late in the regular season. A late run evened their OIA East mark at 5-5, and then Na Menehune qualified for […]

The D-II brackets are narrowing and St. Francis, even with missing or departed players, are the clear team to beat again. The Saints outlasted Roosevelt 62-51 in the quarterfinal round last night at the Saints’ gym. The top-seeded team and defending state champion will host Kauai in tonight’s semifinal round. Kauai edged Hawaii Prep, the No. 4 seed, 53-50 last night. If you are a traditionalist and likes to see the KIF champion get the unofficial No. 5 seed when […]

The questions remain and basketball fans debate. How did the ILH 2, Punahou, get a less difficult path that ILH 1 Maryknoll? Why is St. Francis, the top seed in D-II, playing at home? Twice? It all goes back to the HHSAA by-laws. A league champion must be split into a separate sub-bracket from its second-place team. In the case of Punahou, they’re the same sub-bracket as OIA champion Kalaheo (which lost last night to Moanalua). OIA 2 Kahuku and […]